Tag Archives: Barj Dhahan

Uddari welcomes the launch of Dhahan Youth Prize, a province-wide creative writing contest where EIGHT British Columbia students of Punjabi will be awarded a CDN$500 prize, four in each of intermediate and advanced language skill levels.

The contest is open to all secondary school students of British Columbia who are studying Punjabi in grade 11 or 12.The writing submitted must be in both Punjabi and English.Submissions will be accepted from March 1st to May 31st, 2017.The awards will be given out at the Dhahan Prize Awards ceremony at the end of October 2017.

Coast Capital Savings is the presenting sponsor for the new Youth Prize, and L.A. Matheson Secondary is a supporting partner with Founder Barj S. Dhahan.

Punjabi is the 2nd most spoken language in British Columbia. This youth initiative will be recognized along with the Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature.

After an inspiring, well-organized and successful launch in 2014, Dhahan International Punjabi Literature Prize is now calling for submissions for its 2015 Prize.

Puunjabi novels and collections of short stories published in 2014 are eligible. Find downloadable Submission Guidelines and Eligibility Requirements in English, Gurumukhi and Shahmukhi at the bottom of the post.

Press Release

Submissions for 2015 Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature open January 1

Vancouver, BC (January 7, 2015) – Following the success of the inaugural Dhahan Prize, submissions are now open for the world’s signature prize in Punjabi literature on January 1, 2015. Eligible authors writing in either of the two Punjabi scripts, Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi, are invited to submit a work of fiction for the $25,000 CDN first prize.

Novels and short story collections published in 2014 will be accepted from January 1 to March 15, 2015 at www.dhahanprize.com. Two second place prizes of $5,000 CDN will also be awarded.

Based in Vancouver, Canada, The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature was established in 2013 to recognize excellence in Punjabi literature and inspire the creation of Punjabi literature across borders. The prize is awarded at the international level each year to three books of fiction in Punjabi written in either of two scripts, Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi.

“This is a truly an international literature prize,” says Raghbir Singh, Chair of the Dhahan Prize advisory committee. “In our inaugural year, the Dhahan Prize received over 70 entries from 5 countries around the world. We’re hoping to increase our reach and the number of submissions for 2015, while continuing to encourage new writers to take up writing in Punjabi.”

The first prize winner for 2014 was Avtar Singh Billing for his book,Khali Khoohaan di Katha(The Story of Empty Wells), which will be translated from Gurmukhi to English this year. Two second place prizes of $5,000 CDN were also awarded to Zubair Ahmad from Pakistan, and Jasbir Singh Bhullar from India.Winners were feted at the Dhahan Prize Awards Gala in Vancouver on October 25, 2014.

The Dhahan Prize celebrates the rich culture and transnational heritage of Punjabi language and literature by awarding a yearly prize for excellence in Punjabi fiction. The Prize mission is to inspire the creation of Punjabi literature across borders, bridging Punjabi communities around the world and promoting Punjabi literature on a global scale. The Dhahan Prize is awarded by Canada India Education Society (CIES) in partnership with the Department of Asian Studies in the Faculty of Arts at University of British Columbia (UBC). The prize is funded by an endowment from Barj and Rita Dhahan, and family and friends. Learn more at www.dhahanprize.com and join us on Facebook and Twitter.

For months, i have watched with apprehension and excitement the development of Dhahan International Punjabi Literature Prize, and now after its launch(es) i am happy to report that it is indeed a giant(!) leap(!) forward for Punjabi literature. Not just because the prize money is substantial at $25,000 (all scripts, and with two runner-ups of $5,000, one each for Gurumukhi and Shahmukhi), but also because it is one of the few initiatives that recognizes Punjabi in it’s totality and so claims the history and development of its literature across scripts, national/ethnic boundaries, and religious divides.

Submission GuidelinesDate January 15 – March 1 (online), with hard-copies due by March 15.Format PDF version and a Printed CopyGenre Fiction – novels, novellas, short story collectionsEdition Original first editions only. Reprints or translations are not eligible.Publishing Date During 2013Books Published by ‘recognized’ and ‘independent’ publishers only. No self-published books.

Download Call for SubmissionsEnglishGurumukhiShahmukhi
(Note revised date: Jan 15 – March 1 (online), with hard-copies due by March 15)

Uddari fully supports this wonderful initiative as it is one of the fruits of our labour. Dhahan Prize is so valuable because it recognizes:. Punjabi writers anywhere in the World. In South Asia and outside.. Punjabi literature in both its major scripts, Gurumukhi and Shahmukhi.. Importance of fiction, long and short, in the development of a literature.. Rights of Punjabi writers by offering them the first yearly living wage.

The Prize will for sure get some serious attention from Punjabi writers around the world where only a few can or have depended on their creative writing for a living. I am talking about those stubborn people who insisted on writing in Punjabi when their world was pushing it aside and saying that there’s no future in writing in Punjabi; the people who were told by non-royalties-paying Punjabi publishers that their work is not good enough for money; and, that not many wanted to read them anyway.

Dhahan Prize will create a surge in the readership of Punjabi books because writers are the very first readers of books.

At Uddari Weblog, we are in a celebratory mode because Dhahan Prize strengthens many of our goals and objectives.